We were both a little run down on Tuesday, so we had a very light day. Wednesday was also light, but had a few highlights including a museum dedicated to the 1972 crash of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 carrying a Montevideo rugby team that crashed in the Andes mountains, as well as a cool bar that Anthony Bourdain visited on his 2nd trip to Montevideo, and Palacio Taranco.
Tuesday
Tuesday (late) morning we went back to Feltrinelli bookstore to visit the cafe and get some real coffee. I had a cappuccino, Teresa had an iced latte, and we shared an apple tart. All were delicious. It would be nice if our hotel had espresso, but on the plus side, we get to try out different cafes!
After our caffeine break, we wandered around Ciudad Vieja (Old Town) a bit before deciding on lunch at La Tabla. Both of our dishes were tasty, but overly salted (which was odd, because so far, we’ve noticed they tend to under-salt and let you add your own). 3 out of 5 stars. We were sitting underneath a red umbrella, and the sun hit it just right so that everything on our table was tinted red. (That’s why the photo of my chicken looks a bit odd…)
In the late afternoon we walked to Teatro Solis to buy tickets to a Flamenco show next Monday, then stopped at Gato Tuerto (One-Eyed Cat) for a very refreshing fruit drink called Dr. Gato.
We did some shopping (browsing, really) for a while until we were hungry for dinner, then when back to Bar Tasende (where we had our first meal of the trip) for more pizza.
This time I remembered to take a photo! The portions are just the right size for a light dinner.
Tuesday daily steps: 7,086
Wednesday
Although Wednesday was also a light day, we did quite a bit more than Tuesday, beginning with finding another spot for coffee:
Pausat Cafè i Pans
We found another little cafe just down the street from our hotel: Pausat. We loved everything about this place. The coffee was excellent, as were the pastries (we got a few small panellets), and the service was very friendly. Plus, their coffee mugs are beautiful!
I’m pretty sure this will be our new morning coffee spot, given our hotel only serves brewed coffee like savages.
Museo Andes 1972
The Museo Andes 1972 is dedicated to the 1972 crash of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 carrying a Montevideo rugby team that crashed in the Andes mountains. It’s a very well done museum, and left us both sad and inspired. They start you with a short movie that gives an overview of the events, and includes modern-day interviews with some of the survivors as well as family members of the deceased.
The museum is spread across three floors. There are exhibits that detail how they survived, information about the crash itself, details about both the survivors and those who perished, information about the rugby team, displays about hypothermia, what other events were happening in 1972 during the 72 days the survivors were stranded, and lots and lots of artifacts that have been found or excavated from the crash site during the many trips to the site in later years.
There’s also a simulator where you enter a chamber that drops the temperature to the average temp during those 72 days (minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit), and you sit in there for 72 seconds to see how it feels. We both declined.
Another interesting artifact was a notebook where one of the survivors wrote down all the restaurants he wanted to visit when he returned to Montevideo, as a way to keep up hope. We’ve found a couple of the places (many no longer exist), including an ice cream shop we plan to visit. Can you imagine trying to survive in sub-zero temperatures with very little warm clothing for 72 days, and dreaming of getting ice cream? Wild. We spent about 90 minutes in the museum, and highly recommend a visit.
Palacio Taranco
After the museum, we went to Palacio Taranco…which is also a museum. The palace was erected in the early 20th century during a period in which the architectural style was influenced by French architecture. It was designed by French architects Charles Louis Girault and Jules Chifflot León, who also designed the Petit Palais and the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
The palace contains the Museum of Decorative Arts, with various paintings, sculptures, textiles, ornaments, and European furniture. It’s free to enter, but donations are welcome. Teresa really liked the palace, but I was a bit underwhelmed. I did like a few of the pieces, and it was fairly small so didn’t take up too much of our time.
We went back to Feltrinelli bookstore (our third trip!) for lunch, because when we where there the day before, we saw someone eating a plate of chicken that looked really good. (It was really good!) We both got the chicken thigh in white wine sauce. I chose puréed pumpkin as my side, and Teresa had rosemary roasted potatoes. Both were delicious.
Piwo Helados Artesanales
In the evening we went to Piwo Helados Artesanales, which was a cool and funky ice cream shop. The walls are full of graffiti from customers, the ice cream was delicious, and they played good music. When we entered they were playing a song from Caballeros de la Quema, a rock band from Argentina. I’d not heard them before, but they were right up my alley. (Not sure about the rest of their catalog, but I liked the song I heard.)
La Ronda
After our ice cream, we walked to La Rambla and headed east past Plaza España to La Ronda, a bar & restaurant where Uruguayan hardcore band Hablan Por La Espalda took Anthony Bourdain on his 2nd visit to Montevideo.
It has a cool vibe, cool posters (including a Bauhaus poster), and play good music on vinyl. It was a mix of alternative and classic rock (think: Radiohead to Dire Straits…both of which we heard while we were there).
The menu looked good, but we only wanted a snack, so got (yet another) Uruguayan pizza and a couple cocktails. We sat outside with a nice view of La Rambla and the sunset. The pizza was good, as were the drinks. While were were there, Daniel walked by (he’d been visiting his cousin all day) and joined us.
Additional Photos from Tuesday and Wednesday
Wednesday daily steps: 15,885
Días perfectos ❤️🩹🇺🇾☕
Very cool!